Method of and apparatus for making a sprinkler hose



Aug. 13, 1957 A. A. KAUFMAN 2,802,530

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A SPRINKLER HOSE Original Filed Oct.23, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY AZMH A. KAUFMAN 1957 A. A.KAUFMAN 2,802,530

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A SPRINKLER HOSE Original Filed Oct.23. 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 T E TACJE.

JalECLW I INVENTOR g v as L? B AND APPARATUS FoR MAKING A SPRINKLER HOSEAlbert A. Kaufman, North Plainfield, N. 1.,

mesne assignments, to Amerace Corporation,

York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware 1952, Serial No. 316,456. May 8,1956,,Serial No.

lVIETHOD OF assignor, by New Original application October 23, Dividedand this application 583,587

9 Claims. (Cl. 164-103) The present invention relates to a light weightmultitubular hose and more particularly to a method of and apparatus forpuncturing such a hose to convert it into a sprinkler hose for use inthe sprinkling of gardens and lawns.

As such, the present invention is a division of my prior and copendingapplication, Ser. No. 316,450, filed October 23, 1952, now abandoned. Myprior or parent application aforesaid is directed to a hose per se,whether or not it be used as a sprinkler hose, i. e. whether or not .itbe perforated. The present invention is restricted to the making of sucha sprinkler hose, particularly by perforating a hose for that purpose,and relates particularly to a method of making a group of perforationsin a predetermined arrangement or disposition and also to apparatus foruse for this purpose.

Hosefor conducting fluids has heretofore been typically in the form of asingle tube with suflicient wall thick mess to withstand the burstingstresses, or reinforced for this purpose. It is bulky, diflicult to windand when sharply kinked will completely shut off flow. It has also beenproposed to make a hose in a multi-tubular form, particularly for use asa sprinkler, but only by laterally joining together complete single tubesections so that the amount of material used is at least a directmultiple of the amount used in each single tube.

According to the present invention, the hose, whether to be used simplyfor conducting fluids or for use as a sprinkler hose, is made in theform of a multiple tube, seamless extrusion with all the tubes side byside. The total cross-sectional area of the fluid-conducting spaces ofthe multiple tubes provided is made equal to the crosssectional area ofthe usual standard size or prototype tube so as to have equalfluid-conveying capacity. As, however, the load on the tube walls ismuch less, the wall thickness is substantially reduced from what theusual single tube hose employs. The typical one-inch hose of 1 /8" to 1/2" 0. D. may be replaced by a four tube hose about x 2% outsidedimensions, while the typical inch hose O. D. may be replaced by athree-tube hose about 5 x 1%, outside dimensions. In each case themulti-tube hose may be of less weight per unit length with equalbursting strength. It can be wound much flatter or ribbonwise on a reel,and kinking or twisting of such hose does not completely cut ofi flow.

The automatic sprinkling of gardens and lawns has heretofore usuallyinvolved the use of hose or piping to conduct the water from the fixedplumbing to some form of rotary or oscillatory mechanical sprinklerconnected to the end of the hose, or the piping, and capable ofproducing some form of spray to cover an area centered generally aboutthe point where the sprinkler is attached to the hose, or pipe. Suchdevices are able to cover only. a limited area and require long enoughhose to reach the center of this area. In general, they are unable todeliver water, with a high degree of uniformity Patented Aug. 13, 1957"ice of coverage over the various areas which can be reached by thespray and often waste much of the spray in unwanted areas. These devicesare likely to get out of order and involve considerable expense inaddition to the cost of the hose itself.

Furthermore, the sprinklers in common use are not suitedfor curvingaround circular areas or for use on hills rock gardens, terraces,between the rows in vegetable gardens or along narrow strips and bordersbecause they do not place the water over areas where the water isdesired. r

The present invention contemplates a combined sprinkler and hose whereinthe entire length of the hose itself is available as a sprinkler toprovide a spray which soaks the ground on both sides ofthe hose for theentire length of the hose.

According to the present invention, the new sprinkler hose is made oflastomeric materials such as those in common use, extruded to form aplurality of tubes (usually three) side by side. The extrusion is aboutthree times as wide as it is high and the hose will lay flat on theground. The normally upper surface of the multi-tube hose may bepunctured according to a predetermined pattern, lengthwise and crosswiseso that a great many small jets are produced at predetermined anglesrelative to the ground and all along the entire length of the hose.There is thus formed a series of jets, some of which are nearly verticalso that water falls close to the hose; others are at a relatively lowangle so that spray covers relatively remote areas and still others areat intermediate angles to provide spray which falls in between the sprayproduced by the other two sets of jets. This arrangement of jets makesit possible to obtain from the hose a sprinkling pattern according towhich the water falls on a strip of ground each side of the hose for theentire length of the hose.

In the manufacture of the hose, the elastomeric material of the desiredcross-section is first extruded and the extrusion is cut into suitablelengths, say 50 feet or 25 feet. Preferably one end of the extrusion issecured to a hose coupling so that the hose can be coupled to the usualhose connections or piping. The other end is heat sealed to close offall the tubes, or may be connected'to a male coupling for securement toanother hose, or to a cap.

For suitably puncturing the walls of the multiple tube extrusion, thecoupling end of the hose may be connected to a source of air pressurewhich distends the extrusion so that the two walls are stretched and thetubes become circular. This places'the material of the extrusion indefinitely oriented positions corresponding with what it will be whenthe hose is subjected to water pressure.

Owing to the soft nature of the elastomeric material used, it'isimpractical to attempt to place holes in the tube walls by operationssuch as drilling which could be used with tubes made of rigid materialsuch as metal.

According to the present invention, however, the elastomeric materialwhen under internal air pressure is confined at suitable spots or areasalong the length of the hose and punctures are made in the confined,preferably flattened, walls of the tubes. In the latter case, thesepunctures are displaced from the center lines of the respective tubes inpreselected amounts so that when the external pressure is removed thepunctures migrate to proper angular position so that the jets havedesired angles of elevation.

Other and further objects appear as the description proceeds.

The accompanying drawings show, for purposes of illustrating the presentinvention one form of hose, together Figure 1 is a perspective viewillustrating a curved'lawn 7 areabeing sprinkled-with the present'ho se; 1 Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating' theahose and thetrajectory of the various 'jets produced by the hose; u Figure 3 is aperspective view=showing a length'gof hose and indicating where the hosewalls are punctured;

Figure 4 is atop plan viewof a portion of the hose showing a group ofpunctures; 1 v V 1 Figures 5, 6, and 7 are transverse sectional; viewsof the lines 5-5, 66 and 7-7, respectively,*of- Figure 4; s Figure 8 isa fragmentary view illustrating the slit formed by the puncture needleand the deformation of the slit when water under pressuree'scapesthrough the slit; Figure 9 is a sectional view in the line 9--9of Figure '3, illustrating the joining of the multi-tube hose to thehose coupling; v

Figure '10 is a diagrammatic view of puncturing the tube walls;

Figure 11 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 11-11 of Figure 10,showing the flattening and puncturingapparatus separated and the tubesdistended byinternal pressure;

Figure 12 is a view similar to Figure '11, showing the apparatus inclosed position with the tubes flattened and the needles in puncturingposition; 7 'Figure 13 is a top plan view with parts in section alongthe line 1313 of Figure 11;

Figure 14 is a section taken on the line 1414 of Figure 12 looking inthe direction of the arrows;

Figure 15 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the recovery of the hoseflattened as in Figure 12 to the original distended shape of Figure 11,and illustrating the location of the punctures;

Figures 16 and 16a are side and puncturing needle; and

Fignlre 17 illustrates a modified form apparatus for puncturing.

The hose of the present invention utilizes a multi-tube extrusionpreferably made of suitable elastomeric ma- .terial such as polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, or natural or synthetic rubberq This material isextruded from the usual plastic extrusion machines in indefinitelengths. A typical single tube garden hose has an inside diameter of ofan inch and is able to carry all the water which can be deliveredthrough the usual house piping. Such a hose, owing to the stress giventhe material by the usual hydrostatic pressure to which it is exposed,"has to have relatively heavy side walls in order to resist rupture.Where, however, a hose is made of equivalent total crosssection, but inthe form of a plurality of tubes, the tube walls may be very muchthinner. For example, the

illustrating the method end views of the of method of and cross-sectionof a three-tube hose with each of the three I tubes-having an insidediameter of approximately .360 inch is equivalent to the /8 inch hose.The wall thickness of the three-tube hose having.360 inch insidediameteris on the order of .03 inch thick, which gives by calcula tion across-sectional area for a three-tube hose of approximately .110 squareinch neglecting the reduction in such area incident to a wall thicknessin the webs between adjacent fluid passages of less than twice the outerwall thickness. The wall thickness'of a single tube hose of equalcarrying capacity and having 4; inch inside diameter and inch outsidediameter must be approximately .125 inch thick in order to withstand theincreased stresses in the hose due to the larger diameter. Thecross-sectional area of such a single tube hose is (by calculation) .294square inch, which is more than twice that of a three tube hose asaforesaid. Since weight per unit length of hose is directly proportionalto the cross-sectional area,-

the conventional single tube hose will weigh perunit length more thantwice that of a three-tube hose having equal carrying capacity and sowill be more difficult to handle than a three-tube hose.

The weight of the multi-tubular hose can be made even less by making thetubes integral along their sides so that the-adjoining sides have a.common portion of the same thickness as the thickness of one of theindividual tubes, as shown in Figs. 5., 6 and 7. Such a mu'lti-tubularhose as has just been described is illustrated in the drawings whichshow three such tubes side by side. Such a hose is approximately 1%inches wide and inch high so that itjlays flat on the ground without anytendency to twist when pressure is applied. I

In the drawings, the two 'outsidetubes are indicated at A and A and thecenter tubeis indicated at B. The far end of the length of hose isprovided. with a coupling or heatsealed, as indicated at 10, so that allthree tubes are closed. At the other end of the extrus ion,;th'eintermediate connecting walls between the tubes are slitted as indicatedat 11 (Fig. 9) to forma short tube, and this slitted end together with areinforcing tube 12 of similar material is forced about a couplingsleeve 13. The elastomeric material of the tubes AB-A and thereinforcing tube 12 is secured in place by "an outer ferrule member 14crimped in place. The coupling sleeve 13 receives the loose threadedbushing or nut 15' b'y'which the hose may be coupled to another hose orto'a pipe or faucet or the like. At spaced intervals along themultitubular hose, the surfaces which are to be uppermost in use arepunctured to provide openings through which water may be forced to formsprinkling jets. These punctures are located in a pattern whichachieves'uniform distribution of water not only lengthwise of the hosebut across the hose so that a restricted area each side of the hose andfor the full length of the hose is sprinkled;

The preferred pattern of openings or punctures is shown in Figures 4-7.Here, the left tube A and the right tube A are provided with puncturesindicated at 20'and 21, disposed at such a position as to cause theissuing jet to be at angles of approximately 45 above the ground and, atopposite sides of the median vertical plane. T The tubes A and A arealso provided with punctures=-22 and 23, disposed at such a position asto cause the issuing jets to be at angles of approximately. 88 above theground and at opposite sides of the median vertical plane. The centraltube B is provided with punctures 24 and 25, disposed at such a positionas to cause the issuing jets to be at angles of approximately above theground and at opposite sides of themedian vertical plane.

In order to avoid interference of the jets with one another, the sixpunctures ineach group as indicated in Figures 3 and 4 are placed inpairsalong the hose. The pattern used for the punctures may be variedconsiderably.

When the hose is subjected to internal waterpressure, water tends toescape through all the punctures, and if the maximum area of thepunctm'ed openings through which water can escape is properly relatedtothe maximum capacity of the tubes to carry water, it is possible tomaintain pressure all along'the hose and maintain uniform flow ratethrough all the hose openings. To eflEect this, the totalcross-sectional area of the slits when wide open should not exceed thecross-sectionalarea 'of'ithe tube. Where the supply line is larger than/8 inch, additional lengths of hose may be connected end to end.

The slit formed by the cutting needle is indicated by the relativelylong heavy line S in Figure 8." In practice, this slit is one which canbe produced by a needle shaped "as shown in'Figures 16 and 16a andhaving adianieter of 050 inch. The slit is'therefore approximately .OSOinch long. Until the water pressure is applied, the slit walls are.tight against one another; but when the water pressure-is applied, thewater tends to escape through the s1it'and that go up nearly vertically,

stretch the opening so" that it becomes widerand wider as indicated bythe arcs above and below the line 8 in Figure come effective producersof jets of water at predetermined anglesand spaced along the hose inaccordance with the spacings of the groups of openings. A. convenientspacing for a fifty-foot hose is..about inches.

The lowermost jets are emitted as above stated at angles of about 45andthesebreak up. due to air resistance and eddying air currents, andfallon the ground at uniform distances from the hose. The steeper jets at anangle of about 70 from the ground go up somewhat higher into the airandfall closer to the hose, while those for example at 88, fall on theground still nearer the hose.: The overall result of the use of thehoseis to provide a remarkably uniform coverage of ground on each sideof the hose. It has been found that with water pressures of pounds persquare inch and up, one can readily cover an area at least ten feet.each side ofthe hose and when a fifty foot hose is used, it thusbecomes possible to cover 1000 square feet of ground.

At 25 pounds pressures, the output on this area is equal to about .5 ofan inch of rainfall per hour. The hose requires no attention once it islaid out and can readily be moved to another location or reeled fiat. 1

After the length of multi-tube ertrusion has been heat sealed at 10 andprovided with the coupling 14, 15, it is connected, as shown in Figure10 to an air hose and air at a pressure sufiicient to distend the hoseis released.

The distended or stretched hose is passed through puncturing apparatusgenerally designated at in Figures 10 to 15. The first set of puncturesis placed near the closed end of the hose. The-puncturing apparatus isthen opened, the hose advanced for the next set of openings and clampedso that the air pressure isnot lost by reason of the holes previouslymade.

The puncturing apparatus has a stationary trough 31 the sides 31a and31b of which are farther apart than the sides of the tubes A, B, A,as'shown in Figure 11. "The trough is shallower than the full height ofthe three tubes. Above the trough is a reciprocable plunger 32 having adownwardly facing flange 33 at the lower end. Four plates 34,

35, 36, and 37 are secured to the plunger flange by bolts 38. The threeplates 34, 35, and 36 have notched or sawtoothed edges 34a, 35a and 36aopposite the smooth edges 35b, 36b and 37b of plates 35, 36 and 37. Thefour plates are drilled to receive clamping bolts 39.

The teeth 34a, 35a and 36a provide a series of saw-teeth adapted toreceive puncturing needles N. The teeth in 36a and 34a are displaced tothe right and to the left, respectively, of those in 35a, preferablyone-third of the spacing of the teeth from one another. For example,

,a pitch of .054 inch between teeth makes it possible to place needles.018 inch apart, measured crosswise of the apparatus. .With differentpitch and number of toothed or notched plates, various needle spacingsmay be obtained. .When the needles are placed in position and the platesclamped together and secured to the head, the needles are definitelypositioned to be in a predetermined pattern. 7

A lower plate 40 carries spacer bolts 41 which extend up throughpressure springs 42 and the plates 34 and 37 and carry nuts 43. Thislower or pressure plate is spring pressed downwardly. When the plunger32 is up, the pressure plate 40 is spaced above the hose as indicated inFigure 11.

When the plunger 32 is brought down, the plate 40 is stopped by thetrough, as indicated in Figure 12. By this action the three distendedtubes A, B and A have been flattened as shown in this figure. The topwalls are now flat-and are held against the lower face of plate 40 byair pressure: Further movement of the plunger 32 will compress thespring 42 and force the needles N down. They pass through openings 44,45 and 46 (elongated to facilitate needle adjustment) and puncture thetube walls as shown in Figure 12. i

, The needles are made of round drill rod, ground as indicated inFigures 16 and 16a to have a sharp diametrical 1 cutting edge N so as tocut a slit rather than punch away or merely distend the material. Theneedles are preferably mounted so that the slits are lengthwise of thehose,so as a place,-

the spacing of the group. may be about 15 inches.

to be along the grain. The needles preferably pass through a pad 47carried byplate 40 and kept saturated with a suitable solvent, forexample, cyclohexanone or methyl-ethyl-ketone for polyvinyl chloride.This coats the needles and causes them to make a small deposit of suchliquid on the walls of the puncture or opening. This results' in afusion of the material of the slit walls, and

reinforces them by forming a skin and increases the tear resistance.

The puncturing apparatus shown is arranged to puncture the slits 20-25,inclusive, in the pattern shown in Figure 4. Reference characters 2ilNto 25N, inclusive, are applied to Figures 1l-l5 for the correspondingneedles. The distances separating the needles are selected so that whenthe external pressure is relaxed and the hose resumes its normal shape,Figures ll and 15, the punctures made by the needle migrate from thefull line position of Figure 12 (or the dotted line position of Figure15) to the dotted line position of Figure 12 (or the full line positionof Figure 15). The slits 2'1) and 21 have been elevated to the 45region, .the slits 22 and 23 have been 70 region. i

After a puncturing operation above described takes the clamp 50a isreleased, the hose advanced, clamped, and the next set of slits punched.In practice, of openings in afifty-foot hose The drawings show a singlehead machine for puncturing one group of openings at a time. A pluralityof heads may be used. The punches and clamps may be operatedmagnetically or by compressed air.

In the apparatus shown in Figure 17, the multitube hose is subjected toair pressure as before, but instead of being confined in place and alsodeformed as above described, it is received between two blocks 50, 51 ofsuch size as to confine the expanded hose. The upper block 51 isprovided with reciprocatory needles (20N' to 25N) corresponding with theneedles above described, but instead-of having all the needles operatein a vertical direcwith the angular positions of the desired punctures.The needles can all be operated by air cylinders or solenoids, one foreach needle.

If one wishes to make a hose which sprinkles to one side only, the sameprocess and apparatus may be used, except for the omission of one-halfof the needles, or all the needles may be located to make all thepunctures to the right or to the left of the center lines of therespective tubes. Such a hose should have a coupling at each end so thatit may be connected to sprinkle to the right or to the left. One canalsoclamp'off one of the outer tubes A or A and then nearly all the waterwill be directed to one side.

The three-tube hose is the preferable form for sprinkling purposes, butit will be understood that the multitube hose may have merely two tubesor may have four or more tubes. The three-tube hose, however, has beenfound most satisfactory, as the three-tube structure is wider than thetwo-tube structure, and the four-tube structure is not necessary forsprinkling purposes. The four-tube structure is, however, more suitablefor trans mitting large volumes of water, as for example, in the oneinchequivalent multi-tube hose. While the sprinkler hose ts designedprincipally to be laid' o'n the ground inthe "sprinkling oflawsandgardens, it is obvious that it can be supported on an elevated structureto form an overhead sprinkler, or could be used upside down or'mounte d.

on'the wall for the washing of cars.

Since it is obvious that the invention may be'embodied in other formsand constructions within the scope of the claims, I wish it to beunderstood that the particular form shown is but one of these forms, andvarious modifications and changes being possible, I do not otherwiselimit circular section, confining a limited length of the tubes;

and while the tubes are thus distended and confined, puncturing thewalls of the tubes, which face in one direction,

.substantially at right angles to the tube walls, and in a-predetermined transverse pattern.

2. The method of manufacturing a sprinkler hose in accordance with claim1, in which the punctures are made in groups, in which afirst group ofpunctures is made at' a predetermined area along the hose and eachsubsequent group of punctures is made at an area along the hose 7between the end thereof to which fluid pressure is being supplied fordistending the hose and the nearest puncture of any previous group, thehose being clamped between said nearest puncture and the area of a newgroup of punctures prior to the making of each such new group ofQpunctures, so as to shut off" the escape of fluid through "thepunctures previously made before a next group of .punctures is made, andprovide for the distention by internal fluid pressure of each area to bepunctured prior "tothe puncturing thereof. i 3. The method ofmanufacturing a sprinkler hose in accordance with claim 1, in which thepuncturing is done by needles precoated with a liquid having acomposition selected in accordance with the composition of saidelastomeric material, so as to treat the Walls of the punctures "withsuch liquid during the puncturing operation.

p 4. The method of manufacturing a sprinkler hose in 'accordance withclaim 1,. in which the puncturing is done by needles precoated with aliquid, which is selected from the group consisting of cyclohexanone andmethyl-ethylketone when the elastomeric materialis polyvinyl chloride,so as to treat the walls of the punctures incidental to the puncturingoperation.

5. The method of manufacturing a sprinkler hose from jrality of tubesformed together side-by-side, closed at one end and open at the otherend, which comprises the steps of applying fluid pressure at the openend to distend the ,tubes so that each has a substantially circularcross section, applying external mechanical pressure to a limitedflength of the tubes to flatten the walls at theupper surface thereofwithout collapsing the tubes, puncturing the flattened upper walls ofthe tubes to form sprinkler openings in the form of slits disposed in apredetermined arrangement along the respective tubes by simultaneouslyImoving a plurality of puncturing needles in a single dia length ofelastomeric material in the form of a plu 8 'r'ection which is atsubstantially right angles to the'flattened'upper walls of said" tubes,and'relieving the tubes ;from' th e external mechanical. pressure, so asto permit fthem toresume anorrhalcross sectional shape with thepunctures-disposed at predetermined angular positions dependent upon thedisposition of the punctures as made as aforesaid. 1 p

6 Apparatus for puncturing a multi-tubular hose to provide sprayopenings therein, comprising means for confining a portion of said hoseof predetermined length, means for supplying fluid pressure to saidportion of said hose to distend it into close contact with saidconfining means, an da plurality of needles arranged to be moved inrespectively axial directions through said confining means for.puncturing said portion of said hose with holes arranged in apredetermined pattern, said directions being substantially at rightangles to' the respective parts of said portion of said hose tobe'pu'nctured when it is confined and distended as aforesaid.

7."Apparatus for puncturing a multi-tubular hose to providesprayopenings therein, comprising means to supply a fluid under pressure toone end of a multi-tubular hose to be'punctured, means providingconfining boundaries for'the bottom and sides of a predetermined portionof such'multi-tubular hose, means for mechanically forcing said portionof said hose to conform to said boundaryprovidingrneans. and for forcingthe'upp'er portions of 'said hose substantially to a flat shape in asingle plane,

while leaving said portion hollow and distended against its confiningmeans by internal fluid pressure, a press head movable toward and awayfrom said plane, a plurality of puncturing needles carried in apredetermined spaced arrangement by said press head'and arranged withtheir axes substantially parallel with the path of movement of said headfor substantiallysimultaneously puncturing a plurality of holes in'saidhose upon a movement of said head sufficient to cause said needles topass through one Wall only of said hose. g

8. Apparatus for puncturing a multi-tubular hose in accordance withclaim 7, in which a pressure plate is .carried'by said press head and isresiliently urged away fromsaid head, said pressure plate constitutingsaid means for mechanically forcing said portion of said hose to conformto said boundary-providing means.

9. Apparatus for puncturing a multi-tubular hose in accordance withclaim 8, in which said pressure plate carries absorbent material adaptedto be saturated with a treating liquid for precoating said puncturingneedles prior to each puncturing operation, said needles passing throughsaid absorbent material incident to the puncturing operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTSGermany Aug. 29, 192 9

